NORMAN, Okla. – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's golf team, for the third consecutive year, was honored by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) for their academic achievements. Wesleyan posted its highest team GPA in three years to earn GCAA Presidents Special Recognition for the first time in school history.
The Panthers posted one of the highest team GPAs in the nation and Division II this past academic year. Wesleyan concluded the 2019-20 season with a 3.518 team GPA to finish as one of the top-15 Division II schools in the country and among the top-95 among all divisions and national affiliations.
"This is a tremendous honor for our program," said Head Coach Ken Badylak. "The second semester was tough for a number of reasons, but our players continued to strive to be better students. Our upper classmen targeted a team GPA of 3.5 two years ago. We knocked on the door last year and were able to break through this season. Its an accomplishment the entire program can be proud of and hopefully we continue to set the bar higher in the future."
Six members of the Wesleyan men's golf team posted a GPA of 3.5 or higher this season with Alex Phillips finishing the year with a perfect 4.0. Sam Bland was close behind with a 3.9 GPA. Not one player on the roster finished below a 3.0 this year.
Nationally, Kentucky (Division I), Maryville (Division II), Swarthmore (Division III), Wayland Baptist (NAIA), Northeast Mississippi (NJCAA Division I), South Mountain (NJCAA Division II) were all named Academic National Champions for finishing with the top GPA in their respective divisions, announced by the GCAA.
Kentucky finished with the top overall GPA in all divisions, finishing the 2019-20 season with a 3.89 team GPA.
A total of 250 schools submitted GPA's of 3.0 or above, with 95 of those schools earning Presidents Special Recognition Honors, finishing with a team GPA of 3.5 and above. A total of 41 schools in Division II posted GPA over 3.0 this season with the Panthers finishing among the nation's elite.
Academic National Champions
Division I – Kentucky
Division II – Maryville (MO)
Division III – Swarthmore
NAIA – Wayland Baptist
NJCAA I – Northeast Mississippi
NJCAA II – South Mountain
Presidents Special Recognition
(3.5 GPA or above)
Division II
Delta State
Florida Southern
Hawai`i Hilo
Indianapolis
Kentucky Wesleyan
Lincoln Memorial
Maryville
Missouri S&T
Missouri-St. Louis
Newberry
Rockhurst
Texas A&M International
Findlay
Tiffin
Virginia Union
All-Academic Teams
(3.0 GPA or better)
Division II
Academy of Art
Albany State
Arkansas Monticello
Barton
Bemidji State
CSU East Bay
Chaminade
Florida Tech
Harding
Henderson State
Hillsdale
Holy Names
Lee
Miles
North Georgia
Northeastern State
Ohio Dominican
Palm Beach Atlantic
Rollins
Saginaw Valley State
Saint Leo
Tampa
Valdosta State
Wayne State (MI)
West Georgia
William Jewell
